Heather Fuller is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at North Dakota State University. She received her doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan. At the graduate level, she teaches in the Developmental Science and Gerontology programs, and at the undergraduate level, she teaches in the Adult Development and Aging option. Her teaching and scholarly work focuses on the influence of social relationships and cultural context on development across the lifespan, including a specific focus on intergenerational and family relationships in later life.

She directs the Linked Lives Research Lab at NDSU where her research broadly focuses on interpersonal relationships and social integration and links to successful aging. Her recent projects focus on better understanding social and community engagement as well as social isolation and loneliness among older adults and examining the supports and needs related to informal caregiving within aging families, particularly within rural communities.

Fuller currently serves as an evaluator for Lutheran Services in America’s Great Plains Senior Services Collaborative, which seeks to provide services to improve care coordination, to foster social engagement, and to support healthy aging for rural seniors across Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota. She has worked in the field of gerontology for 20 years. Her experience includes academic research and outreach, project management and evaluation, and service provision to older adults and their families at the community level.

Education

Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 2009 M.S. in Developmental Psychology, University of Michigan, 2006 B.A. in Psychology and Spanish Studies, University of Minnesota, 2003